ChatGPT-4 as a bartender!
Here is a recipe for a grey-coloured drink that we, at the Outsider, call the “Grey Area”. The name was suggested by ChatGPT-4 when I asked it to pretend to be a bartender and create a drink suitable for those of us who are suspicious of black-and-white solutions to ethical problems. ChatGPT-4 suggested the use of activated charcoal to achieve a grey colour, which was unacceptable for a number of reasons the most important being that the charcoal would adsorb all the alcohol. Then ChatGPT suggested making a suspension of crushed black sesame seeds. Clearly, LLMs will not replace good bartenders.
The recipe was created and perfected the old-fashioned way by joyful, loud, argumentative experimentation in the editor’s kitchen.
Ouzo turns cloudy when it is diluted, which results in a murky blue-grey drink, which is perfect since moral dilemmas ought not to be clear. After a few of these, it appears to be any colour you want. It has appropriately medicinal notes and a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. It’s not bad at all.
Ingredients:
-
30mL Ouzo
-
15mL Blue curaçao (for a blue tint)
-
15mL Campari (for an orange tint)
-
Splash of fresh lemon juice
-
Splash of syrup
-
Ice cubes
-
Lemon slide for garnish
-
Soda
Instructions:
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
- Add all ingredients, except the soda and the lemon slice, into the shaker.
- Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds or until well chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a martini glass filled with ice.
- Top with soda and gently stir to combine.
Garnish:
- Float the lemon slice on top for a sparkling finish.
Enjoy your Grey Area! Cheers! 🍸✨
Editor’s note:
- Ouzo may be substituted with fennel infused gin. Allow a handful of fennel seeds and a few pieces of star anise to infuse their flavours into the gin for a week. Use the cheapest gin you can find. Expensive gins, or any kind of clear liquor that is not a cheap gin are poor substitutes.
- If there’s no Campari or curaçao to hand, or if you’re struggling with an inexpensive moral dilemma, or if you’re El Cheapo, these may be substituted with cranberry juice and any blue-coloured fizzy drink, respectively.
- If you are confronted by a really weighty moral dilemma, dispense with all the instructions above. Drink the cheap gin straight from the bottle.